The Missouri State Senate passed a bill partially funding a new Kansas City Royals ballpark yesterday, with the state House expected to take up the measure next week.
The bill would not directly spend state tax dollars on new or renovated facilities for the Royals or Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), but it would issue state bonds to cover 50 percent of the costs of new construction or improvements and up to $50 million in tax credits. (Also approved: St. Louis relief funds for damage from tornadoes and property-tax relief.) That is seen as an offer competitive with an existing offer from Kansas to use state sales-tax bonds to cover up to 70 percent of the costs of new construction should a team cross state lines.
Having two offers of state incentives will not necessarily lead to a quick decision on a new Kansas City Royals ballpark. Indeed, since raising the issue a few years ago, the list of potential sites for a ballpark keeps growing longer. Whereas the team started with a focus on a new downtown facility, the search has expanded to neighboring communities and counties, including both Jackson or Clay counties on the Missouri side. The Royals themselves clouded the issue recently by acquiring the mortgage to the former Sprint headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, where there are potentially 42 acres of developable land for a new ballpark.
If the two teams decide to stay in Missouri, the Chiefs are likely to seek a renovation of Arrowhead Stadium as well as construction of a new training facility. A new Kansas City Royals ballpark is pretty inevitable; a renovated Kauffman Stadium has not been discussed seriously.
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About Kevin Reichard
Kevin Reichard is founder and publisher of Ballpark Digest.